Proverbs of a 41 yr old man

It's meant to be hard. It's hard to cut off the flesh and practice righteousness. Consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. Your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. That our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Amen. It's hard to lose weight. You have to real push yourself to exhaustion to start seeing results. We discipline our bodies to make it do what we want. And if we don't atrophy begins to set in. Becoming more and more harder to come up out of our sins that so easily besets us. God was fulfilling a greater purpose in Adam and Eve working hard after the fall. Adam tilled the ground in sweat and brow producing a good work in him. Eve was to give birth in pain but would be saved through it. It's so easy to disobey and rebel but to be faithful and obey is the work of the Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit has been around since the beginning and could not strive with the hearts of man. When Jesus suffered and died on the Cross it was for obedience. He learned obedience for us so that His Victorious Spirit can be poured into us. We can overcome because He overcame this world. Jesus did the hard work of saving the soul so that he can perfect the hearts of man. Saving us even in our fallen state and continuing his eternal work unto the day He comes again. There is a time and place for submission. Sometimes we work so hard into exhaustion. And the LORD says now it's time to rest and let me work. We are to make every effort with fear and trembling to work out our own salvation. I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won't lose out after telling the good news to others. For if I live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit I put to death the deeds of the body, I will live. Read this for meditation. 2 Peter 5 starting at verse 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.